I loved “les Harry Ass”. After climbing through the next few towns, I dropped my water bottle, and went back down forever to find it still rolling... A very beautiful part of the Camino. When I hear people asking about what parts to skip, I...
Leave home behind. Enjoy the freedom to just be. I don’t know how many times, in some of the worst situations, I would look up, burst out laughing, and tell myself “ BUT LOOK WHERE I GET TO BE!” It is a privilege to have the time, the means...
My general advice is to plan well but hold your plan in an open palm not a closed fist, ready to change it as the situation suggests. My specific advice or tip in the context of this thread is to take the same approach to all the excellent tips...
Open yourself to conversations with everyone you meet, whether older, younger, or even in a language you don’t speak well. You gain so many insights into how others view the world through this. Laugh, let go of preconceived ideas, be open to...
Forgive me if you are well aware of traveling east to Europe, but the time zone changes can be exhausting. The first section leaving SJPdP is a small challenge if you are not quite yet warmed up to walking hills with a pack. Millions have made...
I too came from western Canada to the Camino. I started from a small Gulf Island while a train strike was starting in France. It took me 4 days to get to the “start line” in SJPdP! Despite having a strong running, gym, walking base for years...
I found some of the hardest navigating was getting out of a small, unmarked town. In daylight. I personally went to Spain to see it. I prefer daylight, but maybe that’s just me.
Walking in the dark has three disadvantages. 1. You don't see anything. 2. It's easy to get lost by missing those yellow arrows. 3. I trip over things.
Lastly, getting up at 3am may not be a disadvantage to you but it sure as heck will...